Eric turned her chin gently to look at him. He gulped, trying to hold in the anger that question filled him with. “Don’t ever ask me that again. I can’t believe you would even think it.”
She stared at him, then in an instant, she wrapped her arms around him. “Maybe I could go out and stay with you a few times.”
Eric squeezed his eyes shut. He had a feeling she’d suggest that. But his dad had told him he’d be putting in some long hours. There’s no way he’d have time for her.
“We’ll see,” was all he’d commit to.
She pulled away, eyes pinched. “Or not.”
Eric pulled her to him. “Sof, I’ve only stayed with my mom a few times my whole life. I’m not even sure if this is gonna work out. I’m just saying, let’s wait and see what happens.”
Even though he knew how disappointed Sofia was, he was glad he’d finally told her. They’d been through so much already. They could get through this.
***
Eric had only been gone a few days, and Sofia was feeling it. She tried so hard to put up a front when he left, but she couldn’t help feeling like somehow he wanted to be away from her. It felt wrong. She should be happy for him. Even her brothers had agreed this was an awesome opportunity for him, but she couldn’t help it.
Weeks later, even after Eric had come home and two weekends in a row they’d spent most of their time together in a hotel room, she tried pushing it to the back of her mind. Sofia had only signed up for two classes over the summer. She regretted it now, because it gave her too much time to think.
She used her writing as therapy, spending hours with her laptop. For the most part, it worked. She’d been writing for hours when her phone rang. It was Eric. She answered eagerly.
“Hi, baby.”
“How’s my girl?” He sounded tired.
“Okay, but God, I miss you.” She had to stop telling him that. He was going to get tired of hearing it.
“I miss you, too. Just two more days and we’ll be together again.”
They talked about their days. His was always more exciting than hers.
“Oh, hey, guess what?” Eric’s tired tone seemed to wake a little. “My dad’s always going on about what a small world this is. He’s forever running into people from way back even when he’s out of the country. Now I know what he means. So far, I’ve run into two people from La Jolla. Remember Jacob Taylor?”
Sofia thought about it for a moment. “No.”
“From the football team in high school.”
Sofia wracked her memory. “Ah-uh.”
“Anyway, he’s going to school out here. I ran into him the other day at the market. Then just today I ran into Asia, remember her?”
Sofia was trying still to remember Jacob when she heard the name Asia, and her mind halted. How could she not remember the neighborhood slut?
“The one that lived up the street?” Sofia’s cheeks were suddenly warm. If she wasn’t mistaken, she’d heard a few things about Eric and Asia, way back in the beginning of high school.
“Yeah, I stopped at the place where I get my coffee on my way to work. She works there. She said it was her first day. I almost didn’t recognize her. She’s changed a lot.”
“Does she still dress like a whore?” Petty, but for some reason the fact that Asia worked at the coffee shop Eric would be at every morning didn’t sit well with her at all.
“No, Sofie.” He paused, the regret in his voice about telling her apparent. “She was in uniform.”
“What else did she say, Eric?” She hated the mood the conversation had taken. She’d taken it there, but couldn’t help herself.
“Not much. I was in and out of there as soon as I got my coffee. But she did say she’s out here trying to become an actress.” He laughed.
Sofia didn’t laugh. It didn’t surprise her. Asia had always been about the drama.
“You still there, Sof?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“What’s wrong?”
Deciding not to make a big thing of it, she took the high road. “I just miss you. That’s all. I can’t wait ‘til this weekend.”
“Me either.”
Eric told her about buying tickets to Sea World for the weekend. As much as she liked Sea World, she would rather spend the weekend the way they’d spent the last two, but she pretended to be excited, anyway.
*
A few weeks later, Sofia went to the movies with Naomi. They’d become pretty close in school. The only reason why she never did anything with her outside of school was because any free time she had, she preferred to spend with Eric. Now that he was away, she had more than enough free time to spare.
After the show, they grabbed a burger. They sat down in a booth with their trays of food.
“So how’s it feel to be free?” Naomi asked, sticking a fry in her mouth.
Sofia looked at her. “I’ve never felt trapped.”
Naomi glanced up at her. “That’s not what I meant. I mean, you finally get to do whatever you want without your brothers or Eric having anything to say about it.”
Sofia felt unease set in. The same unease she’d been feeling the past few weeks. Naomi had an annoying way of always hitting things on the nose. She’d never given it much thought, but she had gone from her brothers watchful eyes to Eric’s.
Her brothers had passed on the responsibility of looking after her to Eric. It was never said, but that’s exactly what had happened. Now she understood how after so many years of being so overbearing, they’d grudgingly, but a bit too painlessly, been okay with her dating. They knew she was in good hands with Eric. Even when she took the trip to Cancun, they’d been more than happy Eric would be with her.